This past Friday the 13th was the inaugural fight card for M.A.G. Boxing International Promotions at the beautiful Solaire Resort and Casino in Pasay City, Philippines.

The hard working team of Promoters Anson Tui Co and two time world champion Gerry Penalosa who were working non-stop to make this a world class event and they succeeded with a fantastic inaugural event.

The three tough Mexicans came for a war and they delivered. The first bout that had the fans in attendance on their feet was the young and upcoming boxer Luis Lugo from the hotbed of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico against the Filipino brawler Richard Pumicpic.

Lugo (R) in action against Pumicpic.

The fight started off with fireworks and ended after ten rounds with nonstop action in favor of Pumicpic who won with a unanimous decision with scores of 96-92, 98-90, and 98-90 though the fans saw it much closer. The fight was a good test for Pumicpic and Lugo and showed they are ready for the next level.

The 21 year old Lugo stated, “He was very pumped up for this fight and fighting for the first time out of Mexico he came for a war and it was a war. I thought I did enough to win the fight, but the judges saw it differently. I had Pumicpic hurt, but he was tough and he got the victory. The Filipino fans were nice to me and I would love to come back to the Philippines for a rematch."

The co main event saw Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr. the son of two time world champion Dodie Boy Sr. and nephew of two time world champion Gerry Penalosa pitted against a tough Alem Robles of Los Mochis, Mexico.

Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr (R) connects on Robles.

This fight was another nonstop action as both fighters came to do damage to one another. Penalosa threw all he had against the 21 year old kid from Mexico and Robles never backed down. Penalosa got rocked in the 4th and looked like he was ready to go down, and with the ropes holding him up but the tough Penalosa showed why he has the blood of world champions and weathered the storm.

In the 7th, the two got entangled in a headbutt that opened a big cut on the right eyelid of Penalosa and the doctor in attendance put a halt to the fight. The fight ended in a technical decision in favor of Penalosa with scores of 69-64, 69-64, 68-65.

The tough Robles stated, “It was a good fight, Penalosa is very fast and connected a lot of punches. I had him hurt but he never stopped fighting. I want a rematch, I don’t like the decision. This was my first fight out of Mexico and I showed the fans I came to fight. The promoters were very good to me and want to thank them for believing in me."

The main event was the hard hitting world ranked Michael Farenas vs the tough kid from Los Mochis Mexico, Jesus Rios. Pre-fight a knockout was predicted for either boxer because both had impressive knockout percentages. The first round started with Farenas coming out swinging and Rios not backing up and connecting with his own leather. In the second round, Farenas stepped it up and rocked Rios and sent him to the canvas. Rios popped up and continued to fight, but the tough Farenas came in for the kill and Rios went down for the second time and the referee halted the fight with a wobbly Rios.

Rios (L) connects with a right at Farenas.

After the fight, Rios stated, “Farenas hits very hard and was fast. I prepared for this fight because I knew Farenas is a world ranked fighter. I fought in United States many times and fought some tough fighters, but Farenas was my toughest challenge and I believe he will be a world champion soon. I want to thank the promoters for giving me a chance, and the Filipino fans were always nice to me.”

The two tough Mexicans from Los Mochis, Luis Lugo and Alem Robles of the famed LARAZA BOXING GYM headed by Luis Gonzalez is where the tough fighters come from. With a tough boxing stable of Robert Manzanarez, Miguel Gonzalez, Daniel Ruiz (who lost a split decision to Rey Boom Boom Bautista) who are all promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. Luis Lugo goes to (22-4-14KO) and Robles goes to (8-4-3KO) as Boxrec.com was not accurate in there earlier reports.

The team of Anson Tui Co and Gerry Penalosa wanted tough opponents for this event, and they got what they wanted. They stated, “We want to put our fighters in big fights and to be tested with good opposition.”

The next event is slated for February and it will be bigger and better. The Philippine fans will always get world class boxing as the Philippines has many big boxing promotions and the winners are the fans.